How Much Snow Will Missouri Get? Legend Says Watch the Squirrels

It's the eternal question. How much snow will Missouri get this winter? Sure, you could follow forecasts from the National Weather Service and the Climate Prediction Center from NOAA. But, there's a more organic way and it has to do with squirrels. I'll explain.

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This topic came up when my wife noticed something about our squirrels. Note: we have quite a family of squirrels in our Missouri neighborhood. We've named the two youngest "Chip" and "Dale", but that's a story for a different day. Back to my original point now.

My wife noticed there was a large squirrel nest right across the street from our house. She said "whoa, this could be bad". When I quizzed her as to why, she said the squirrels had built a nest high up in the tree which legend says means we're in for a very snowy and cold winter. I find it funny that my wife, the meteorologist, is basing a winter prediction on squirrels.

She's not alone in her thinking. Farmer's Almanac says squirrel watching has traditionally been a typical way for Missouri people to measure the upcoming winter expectations. The theory goes like this. Squirrels have a sense about weather and build their nests higher to be further away from high snow totals. There's a blog from Garden Daze that agrees. Squirrel nest height is a key telltale sign if we're in for a bad winter.

I find it interesting that just a week ago, Farmer's Almanac predicted Missouri could see snow by the end of November. Hmm.

Since I'm not a fan of winter or snow, I'm gonna lean heavily into the actual National Weather Service/NOAA prediction that Missouri winter will be much milder than usual. Take that nut and bury it, squirrels.